Magazine spindles for automatic record changing gramophones



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor KL. GouLomc ,1 A L M170. Attorney L a, m 7 v 2 m May 4, 1965 MAGAZINE SPINDLES FOR AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING GRAMOPHONES Filed Dec. 19, 1962 y 1965 K. c. GOULDING 3,181,871

MAGAZINE SPINDLES FOR AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING GRAMOPHONES Filed Dec. 19, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/G- v F/G.U BK.C-Goul- |NG I iLviwL iuw-un um I 014 Attorney y 4, 1965 K. c. GOULDING 3,181,871

MAGAZINE SPINDLES FOR AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING GRAMOPHONES Filed Dec. 19, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 V 2 mi? 4 Inventor \k K-Q-GQULDING ttorne y United States Patent 3,181,871 MAGAZINE SPINDLES FOR AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING GRAMOPHONES Kenneth Charles Gonlding, Dagenharn, Essex, England,

assignor to The Magnavox Electronics Company Limited, Barking, Essex, England, a British company Filed Dec. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 245,710 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 14, 1%2, 22,937/62 6 Claims. (Cl. 2741tl) One common kind of magazine spindle used in automatic record changing gramophones comprises two cylindrical portions which are laterally off-set one above the other to form a horizontal step on the top of the lower portion. A stack of records to be played on the gramophone is placed over the upper portion of the spindle and rests on the step. To enable the lowermost record in the stack to be played it is pushed sideways so that its central hole coincides with the lower portion of the spindle and it falls down this portion on to the turntable below. In order, When all the records have been played, for the whole stack of records to be able to be withdrawn straight upwards and off the spindle in one movement it is necessary to provide a smooth transition surface between the two portions of the spindle on it's side remote from the horizontal step. The presence of this transition surface means that part of the upper portion of the spindle on its side remote from the horizontal step is cut away. It is therefore necessary to provide a retaining mechanism to prevent other records than the lowermost one in the stack on the step from moving into this cut away portion during the change cycle operation. This retaining mechanism must of course be retractable to allow the stack of records to be withdrawn over the transition surface.

In accordance with the present invention a spindle is formed as a continuous cylinder which has a notch in its side wall and a shelf that is movable between a retracted position within the cylinder and a position in which it projects laterally from the side of the cylinder remote from the notch to support a stack of records on the spindle, and a push-off lever which extends upwards from the bottom through the interior of the spindle and is engageable within the central hole in the lowermost record in the stack, the lever being rockable by a driving mechanism in the gramophone from a retracted position within the spindle to push the lowermost record laterally into the notch and off the shelf so that it falls down the spindle whilst the other records are prevented from moving laterally by the engagement of the wall of the cylinder above the notch within their central holes and the underside of the shelf being inclined so that when the stack of records is lifted upwards off the spindle it engages the shelf and forces it to its retracted position.

With this very simple arrangement no mechanism which projects outside the cylindrical spindle is necessary to prevent other records than the lowermost one from moving laterally during a change cycle so that the stack of records may be lifted straight off the spindle.

Preferably the push-off lever has a limited vertical freedom of movement along the spindle and the push-off lever and shelf have cooperating cam and follower surfaces, the arrangement being such that when the push-off lever has pushed the lowermost record in the stack over the edge of the shelf the weight of the remaining records in the stack forces the push-off lever downwards relatively to the shelf and the reaction between the cam and follower surfaces urges the shelf to its projecting position.

In this case the cam surface may be an inclined surface on the underside of that part of the push-off lever which engages within the lowermost record in the stack, and the follower may then be an abutment carried by the shelf.

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One example of a gramophone incorporated a magazine spindle constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURES I to V are longitudinal sections through the spindle illustrating successive stages in a record change cycle;

FIGURE VI shows a stack of records being lifted from the turntable off the spindle;

FIGURE VII is a side elevation of the gramophone; and

FIGURE VIII is a plan of the gramophone.

The spindle is formed by a single continuous cylinder 1 having a deep slot 2 milled along almost the full length of one side. A smaller slot 3 is cut in the opposite side of the cylinder from the first slot 2 and communicates with it. A shelf 4 having a nose 5 on which a stack of records 6 are supported is pivoted on a pin 7 which is fixed within the cylinder 1 and extends across the slot 2. The shelf 4 is actually formed by two parallel plates which are connected by a pin 8 adjacent to the nose and which lie one on each side of a push-off lever 9. The push-off lever h is also pivoted on the pin 7, the pin passing through an elongated slot 19 in the lever so that the push-off lever has a limited vertical freedom of movement within the spindle.

At the beginning of a record change cycle the lower end of the push-off lever 9 which engages in a slot 14 in a control bar 15 is moved sideways so that the push-01f lever is rocked to a position in which its nose 13 pushes the lowermost record in the stack laterally over the edge of the nose on the shelf 4 as shown in FIGURE II. This record is able to move in this way because it enters a notch 16 in the side of the cylinder 1 remote from the slot 3. As the lowermost record falls off the shelf it is guided by a chamfered portion of the notch 16 until it is coaxial with the cylindrical 1 and thereafter it falls onto the turntable of the gramophone as shown in FIGURE III. As the lowermost record is pushed sideways the other records in the stack are prevented from following it since they engage the wall of the cylinder above the notch 16.

As soon as the lowermost record in the stack has been pushed over the edge of the nose 5 of the shelf 4, the weight of the remaining records in the stack is taken by the nose 13 of the push-oft lever 9 as shown in FIGURE III. Under this weight the push-off lever 9 moves slightly downwards against the action of the spring 12 and an inclined cam surface 17 beneath the nose 13 engages the pin 8. Upon further downward movement of the pushoif lever 9 the pin 8 acts as a cam follower and runs up the inclined surface 17. During this relative movement the reaction between the pin 8 and the cam surface 17 urges the shelf 4 to its fully projecting position, and also forces the push-off lever 9 to rock so that the nose 13 is retracted within the spindle. As shown in FIGURES IV and V, when the weight of the remaining records in the stack is once more taken by the shelf 4, the nose 13 is fully retracted and raised, so that it engages within the lowermost records in the stack once more, under the action of the spring 12. This completes the change cycle.

By ensuring that the relative movement of the push-off lever 9 and the shelf 4 urges the shelf to its fully projecting position, the spring 11 can be made much lighter than would otherwise be possible and there is little danger of more than one record being dropped onto the turntable in each change cycle. As soon as the weight of the remaining records in the stack has been taken by the shelf 4, friction between the records 6 and the nose 5 prevents the shelf 4 from being accidentally retracted and it is thereafter irrelevant whether the surface 17 remains in engagement with the pin 8 or not.

When all the records in the stack have been played the stack may be lifted from the turntable off the spindle simply by raising them upwards. During this upward movement the stack of records 6 engages an inclined surface 18 beneath the nose of the shelf 4 and forces the shelf to pivot to its retracted position against the action of the spring 11.

As shown in FIGURES VII and VIII the lower end of the spindle is fixed to a spring loaded platform 20 of the automatic gramophone. The gramophone comprises a combined on-otf switch and control knob 21, a pick-up arm 22, a turntable 23, and a stabilizing arm 24 for maintaining the records horizontally on the spindle.

The automatic record change cycle of the gramophone is controlled by an electric motor 25 which is switched on and off in dependence on the radial position of the end of the pick-up arm 22 over the turntable 23. The motor 25 drives a cam disc 26 through a rubber drive wheel 27 which engages the periphery of a wheel 28 fixed to the spindle of a gear wheel 29 which in turn meshes with another gear wheel 13. The control bar 15 carries a cam follower which engages the cam disc 26 and the control bar 15 is moved backwards and forwards to rock the push-off lever as the disc 26 rotates.

I claim:

1. In an automatic record changing mechanism the improvement which comprises a magazine spindle having a cylindrical outer surface extending throughout the length thereof on which the records slide and formed with a transverse recess extending from one side of said spindle to the other, a shelf mounted in said recess for movement between a retracted position entirely within said recess and a supporting position in which it projects outwardly from said cylindrical surface to support a stack of records encircling the spindle, a push-off lever within said recess positioned to engage the hole in the lowermost record supported on said shelf and mounted to move away from a retracted position within said recess to an extended position in which it projects to the end of and just above said shelf when said shelf is in its supporting position, dri ing mechanism adapted to rock said push-off lever from its retracted to its extended position and thereby push said lowermost record laterally off said shelf so that it falls down said spindle, a fixed abutment a records thickness above said shelf and on the opposite side of said spindle from said shelf which prevents lateral movement of any record other than the lowermost record by said pushotf lever, said shelf being formed with an inclined undersurface so that when a stack of records positioned on the spindle below the shelf is lifted up, said stack engages said inclined surface and moves said shelf to its retracted position.

2. A phonograph according to claim 1, wherein said push-off lever when in its extended position extends under the stack of records supported on said spindle, said lever has a limited vertical freedom of movement along said spindle and said push-off lever and shelf have cooperating cam and follower surfaces, whereby when said push-off lever in its extended position has pushed the lowermost record in the stack over the edge of said shelf the weight of the remaining records in the stack forces said push-off lever downwards relatively to said shelf and the reaction between said cam and follower surfaces urges said shelf to its projecting position.

3. A phonograph according to claim 2, wherein said cam surface is an inclined surface on the underside of that part of said push-off lever which engages within the lowermost record in the stack and said cam follower is an abutment carried by said shelf.

4. A phonograph according to claim 1, in which said shelf and said push-off lever are pivoted on a common pin within said spindle.

5. A phonograph according to claim 2, wherein said push-off lever is spring urged to its retracted position within said spindle.

6. A phonograph according to claim 1, wherein said shelf is spring urged to its projecting position.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 3/55 Great Britain. 8/61 Great Britain. 

1. IN AN AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING MECHANISM THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES A MAGAZINE SPINDLE HAVING A CYLINDRICAL OUTER SURFACE EXTENDING THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH THEREOF ON WHICH THE RECORDS SLIDE AND FORMED WITH A TRANSVERSE RECESS EXTENDING FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID SPINDLE TO THE OTHER, A SHELF MOUNTED IN SAID RECESS FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A RETRACTED POSITION ENTIRELY WITHIN SAID RECESS AND A SUPPORTING POSITION IN WHICH IT PROJECTS OUTWARDLY FROM SAID CYLINDRICAL SURFACE TO SUPPORT A STACK OF RECORDS ENCIRCLING THE SPINDLE, A PUSH-OFF LEVER WITHIN SAID RECESS POSITIONED TO ENGAGE THE HOLE IN THE LOWERMOST RECORD SUPPORTED ON SAID SHELF AND MOUNTED TO MOVE AWAY FROM A RETRACTED POSITION WITHIN SAID RECESS TO AN EXTENDED POSITION IN WHICH IT PROJECTS TO THE END OF AND JUST ABOVE SAID SHELF WHEN SAID SHELF IS IN ITS SUPPORTING POSITION, DRIVING MECHANISM ADAPTED TO ROCK SAID PUSH-OFF LEVER FROM ITS RETRACTED TO ITS EXTENDED POSITION AND THEREBY PUSH SAID LOWERMOST RECORD LATERALLY OFF SAID SHELF SO THAT IT FALLS DOWN SAID SPINDLE, A FIXED ABUTMENT A RECORD''S THICKNESS ABOVE SAID SHELF AND ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID SPINDLE FROM SAID SHELF WHICH PREVENTS LATERAL MOVEMENT OF ANY RECORD OTHER THAN THE LOWERMOST RECORD BY SAID PUSHOFF LEVER, SAID SHELF BEING FORMED WITH AN INCLINED UNDERSURFACE SO THAT WHEN A STACK OF RECORDS POSITIONED ON THE SPINDLE BELOW THE SHELF IS LIFTED UP, SAID STACK ENGAGES SAID INCLINED SURFACE AND MOVES SAID SHELF TO ITS RETRACTED POSITION. 